Syrian authorities urged not to suppress -Great Friday-
protests
21 April 2011
The Syrian authorities must not respond with violence to
mass demonstrations planned across the country tomorrow, Amnesty International
urged on the eve of a Facebook-promoted "Great Friday" protest.
"It is imperative that these demonstrations are policed
sensibly, sensitively and in accordance with international law to avoid further
bloodshed on Syria’s streets," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s
director for the Middle East and North Africa.
"These ‘Great Friday’ protests could be the largest
yet. If government security forces resort to the same extremely violent tactics
they have used over the past month, the consequences could be exceedingly
grave."
Peaceful protests calling for freedom are expected to take
place in cities and towns across the country including Damascus, Dera’a, Homs
and Banias, in all of which demonstrators have been killed by security forces
in recent weeks.
The death toll has already exceeded 228 as a result of the
crackdown on the protests, which began on 15 March and have since mushroomed as
people have taken to the streets to express their grievances.
On Tuesday, eight protesters were shot dead by the security
forces while staging a peaceful sit-in protest in the city of Homs..
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has just signed a
legislative decree to finally end the country’s repressive 48-year-old national
state of emergency, in force continuously since 1963.
"The lifting of the emergency, so long a symbol of
repression and violations of human rights, is a welcome if long overdue step,”
said Malcolm Smart.
“But tomorrow will be a real test of the government’s
sincerity in undertaking reforms. We must not see more people being shot down
in the streets simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and
assembly.”